Going Merry

The Going Merry was the first ship of the Straw Hat Pirates that they used as their main mode of transportation through the East Blue all the way to Water 7, where it was succeeded by the Thousand Sunny. It is a caravel class ship designed by Merry and given by Kaya to the Straw Hats as a reward for saving her. Over time, the ship came to be loved by the crew as a home and as a friend, so much so that she literally took on a life of her own and became just as much a part of the crew as any of them. Unfortunately, the Going Merry took an inordinate amount of damage during her "lifetime", being blown up, impaled, and even sliced up multiple times. Eventually, the Going Merry could no longer continue and received a Viking funeral.

The Going Merry has a jib and a central steer rudder. The ship's armaments consisted of four cannons, one in the bow pointing forward, one in the stern, and two pointing to either side. They were rarely used, as the Straw Hat Pirates usually preferred to run away or engage in hand to hand combat. After the Arlong Park Arc, the Going Merry gained three tangerine trees from Bell-mère's grove, a memento of Nami's home. As the series continued on, the ship received more and more damage and gained several metal patches to hold her together at places that could not be nailed back together: prominent examples are Merry's figurehead and the mast, which was torn off several times. In the Skypiea arc, the body of the ship had wings and the sheep figurehead was dressed as a chicken. In volume 11 of the manga, Oda presented various schematics and explanations of each part of the ship. These included everything from Merry's figurehead to the kitchen.